Since Jaxson had a great time playing in the sandbox at the apple orchard, I figured we better get him one for home, and fast since the weather will be getting cold. So I found this ladybug sandbox online and we just got it today and tried it out. Of course he loves it and now I think going to the park is a thing of the past.

For about a week now, Jaxson has been super easy to get to take his naps and for bed. Brad and I are just wondering how long this will last. Lately, we’ve just been asking, "Jaxson, wanna go nigh nigh?" and he starts heading for the stairs. He’s been going to bed at 8:30 and getting up at 8:30, but tonight he was super tired and wanted to go to bed at 7:45, so that probably means we’ll be getting up a little earlier tomorrow. He’s probably worn out from all of the playing we did today. We made our first trip to the WDM library for storytime with our friends Mike, Brandy, and Jack. Of course Jaxson loved the stories, dancing, singing, and watching all of the other kids. Then this afternoon we headed out to the play area at the Jordan Creek Mall, which has become one of our favorite spots. We did manage to play outside for a short time this evening after it dried up a little. Brad left for Iowa City early this morning for a neuro conference and won’t be home until tomorrow night, so Jaxson and I are managing to find ways to entertain ourselves.

It was four years ago today that Brad and I said "I Do." It’s hard to believe that it has been four years already. The time has just flown by. I can truly say that the past four years have been the best years of my life. We have truly been blessed by God for our wonderful family. Thank you Honey for our wonderful life together and I look forward to the next years to come.

We celebrated by going out to eat at Sam and Gabe’s while Uncle Andy stayed at home and played with Jaxson.

Yesterday, Jaxson and I spent the day in Gowrie with Grandpa & Grandma Cathcart. We had a wonderful time. We went up to Fort Dodge to the apple orchard to pick up some apple goodies. Jaxson had an absolute blast playing in the kids area, which consisted of goats, a slide, a train, and the best new thing of all. . . a sandbox. Yes, this was Jaxson’s first time in a sandbox. He loved sitting in the sand and picking it up and putting it in a bucket. He even got a taste of it. . . yum yum. The first time we tried to get him out of it he threw a tantrum, so of course we let him back in to play a little bit longer. The second time we tried to distract him with the goats, which worked for a few seconds, but then we decided that we would just have to let him cry about missing the sandbox. So guess what he will be getting in the backyard. We left the orchard with a freshly baked apple pie and some salsa and I can’t wait to get into both of them.

Jaxson and I took advantage of the beautiful weather we had today by spending a good part of it outside. I thought we better do it now since it’s only supposed to be a high of 60 tomorrow. Of course we had to make our daily trip to the park. Jaxson’s new favorite thing is to push the stroller around. He will get it out of the garage and push it right up to the park; he knows exactly how to get there.

Jaxson has had fun these past couple of days playing with his friends. On Monday, Anya (daughter of our friends Jason and Brandy) came over for a couple hours to play. Then today, Jaxson and I headed back to Hubbard for a quick visit with my friend Erika and her son Barrett, who are here from Texas for a few days. The boys played really well together. It was so fun watching them interact with each other. They seem to have their own baby language that only they can understand. If only we knew what they were saying.

It’s hard to get a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old to sit nice and smile for a picture.

Our weekend was just that, constantly on the go. It started on Friday when I went into work from 3p to 12a then came home and got a few hours of sleep so that I could be back to work at 7a-3p. I got off of work a little early to rush home, change clothes, get Jaxson and head off to Hubbard to my cousin, Brian’s wedding. While we left for Hubbard, Brad left for Iowa City to the Hawkeye game. Brian and Kristin had a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding. Jaxson had fun at their reception out at the golf course. He had plenty of room to run and there were plenty of landscaping rocks to climb in and throw. What I didn’t realize was that he was getting eaten alive by mosquitos. I called Brad from work today and he was wondering whether he had a ton of mosquito bites or the chicken pox. I’m voting for mosquito bites since I got quite a few also. . . let’s hope. Jaxson and I left the reception as the dance was starting so that we could drop by G & G Winter’s house. My dad had brought his dog, Butch, in from the farm so that Jaxson could play with him. They didn’t play too much but we did get to see some doggy tricks. Then it was off to home and to bed at 12:30am only to get up at 5 and work 7a-7p. As of right now I’m feeling OK, but I’m sure that won’t be the story tomorrow. Brad had a great time at the Iowa game of course with a victory against Syracuse. BRING ON THE ‘CLONES!